Ryan Photographic - Pomacentridae - Damselfishes and anemonefishes

Family Pomacentridae

Everyone on the planet knows about anemonefish after the blockbuster Finding Nemo, but non-divers are not as aware of damselfishes which are enormously important components of coral reef and other communities. Fishbase lists 28 genera and a massive 321 species in the family. I have so far photographed 67 species.

Most photographers concentrate on anemonefishes but in doing so they overlook the extraordinary diversity of the other pomacentrid species. Anemonefish are renowned for their obligatory relationship with sea anemones. Interestingly only ten anemone species are known to host anemonefish. Some damsels will also hang around anemones when young.

In many species there is a pronounced color change between juveniles and adults. Check out the yellowtail damselfish for an example of this.

Pomacentrids run the gamut of feeding preferences - from algae and coral polyps through to zooplankton. Some of the damselfishes "farm" algae. They drive away other algae eaters such as rabbitfishes and will even attack divers. I have been bitten on several occasions by the dusky gregory. Other damsels, including many of the Chromis species, feed en masse on zooplankton. Schools are most obvious when the tide is flowing strongly, the rest of the time they tend to be more diffuse. A few species will shelter inside the branches of hard corals, emerging when there is no danger and sinking back down into it when a predator approaches. Humbugs, black-axil chromis and blue-green chromis are good examples of these species.

Most damselfishes lay their sticky eggs on a hard surface and then tend them until they hatch. This care usually consists of driving off predators and keeping the eggs clean. Good examples of this are the giant damselfish and the golden damselfish.